Let Her Go
by MP36PH3S
Summary: Jim Raynor has been through hell to bring back the woman he loves. But with the future of the Korpulu Sector dependent on her, there's only one way to win: to go back. A continuation of "Second Thoughts".


**Author's Note: An extension of "Second Thoughts" has been on my mind for a while, but I didn't want to make my own version of the story with such a trivial (at least by the early stages of the game) difference and more than a year after ****_HoTS_**** came out. I don't personally agree with the story, but what happened is canonical regardless.**

**A special thanks Simon 22 who got me started on thinking about this.**

* * *

**Imperial Sector, Augustgrad, Korhal IV**

The gun turret barrels glowed red-hot and explosive shells rained down on the Torrasque battering the entrance to Arcturus Mengsk's palace as troops stationed within the monolith and other fixed defenses opened up on the hordes of Zerg swarming the palace green.

_"It won't be long now,"_ Sarah thought to herself as she watched her minions mop up the last of the once-proud Imperial Guard from atop the pedestal of a toppled Mengsk statue. Despite the inevitable success of the offensive now, she was uneasy. It wasn't the suspicion that Mengsk might have a trap waiting for her, or her worrying over the safety of Jim's men. But with the palace green crammed with almost a whole division of Mengsk's elite armored cavalry, it was too risky for her to be on the front. All it took was a couple of shots from any of the plethora of artillery guns to do her in. Still, being out of combat after weeks of fighting alongside her Swarm didn't sit right with her; staying human did have its share of drawbacks. She was a soldier, and a soldier's mentailty is to be on the front and fighting; despite the changes in her physical form, that mindset hadn't been erased.

"Don't worry about not being out there, darlin. Mengsk'll have to answer to you one way or another. It can't hurt to be careful, and I just got you back." Sarah sighed happily and turned to look at Jim, standing next to her in his trademark black power armor. It was almost eerie that he could read her so well, but she was glad for his understanding.

The two held hands for a brief moment before an explosion shook the palace as a Mutalisk flock managed to destroy both palace gun turrets. Simultaneously the palace gate was finally breached, and Jim slowly let go of her.

"Go get him, Sarah." She looked back one more time with a silent expression of thanks before hurrying to the gate to join the Zerg now clearing the palace of defenders.

Jim watched her uneasily. He knew that Arcturus wouldn't stay behind if he had a trump card. Given what he had seen on Castanar, he didn't like any of the prospects running through his mind at those words.

"Sir? Should I began our withdrawal?" Matt Horner's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yeah. I don't blame my boys one bit for wanting to get away from the Zerg, even if they are on our side. Just wait until I return to leave." Matt acknowledged him without question. He too knew something was up, and like many others, he knew Sarah was the only thing making the alliance work...

* * *

Sarah slipped past a group of marines and a Viking undetected, grateful for the ghost equipment the Raiders had given her before she left the _Hyperion_. Lining up a shot, she fired on a support beam above, causing a portion of the ceiling to collapse on top of the walker. Without heavy firepower and a way to see her, the marines didn't stand a chance, even though she was trying to only wound rather than kill them. Decloaking once they were down, Sarah walked over to one of them.

Paralyzed by fear and pain, the marine winced as he prepared to die. To his surprise, Sarah kneeled down and opened his helmet visor.

"What's your name?" The marine was too shocked to answer. Sarah sighed and continued. "I understand if you don't like me, but am I really the same monster your emperor made me out to be?"

"You unleashed the Zerg upon our Dominion! You went back to the Zerg to kill millions more humans! You're a scourge to humanity, regardless of your appearance!" one of the other marines shouted. As if to prove his point, a cluster of Zerglings and a pair of Hydralisks emerged from a stairwell, and several Roaches followed behind. The marines struggled to raise their weapons, but Sarah used her powers to disarm them before sending the Zerg away. The marines stared in disbelief.

"You should consider yourselves lucky. I wasn't so fortunate when your emperor left me to the Swarm." Sarah stood and began to walk away, letting her words settle. Just before she turned down another hallway, she turned back to them. Though she spoke quietly, they all heard her.

"What does it truly mean, to be human...?"

* * *

Arcturus Mengsk set an ornate box on his desk and slowly unlocked it. There was no rush; from what he'd randomly observed from the massive bank of screens occupying one wall of the office. Behind him, smoke rose over the Imperial sector and Zerg flyers swarmed the skies.

Arcturus extracted a lighter as decorated as its box and a cigar. Of course, the device was no lighter, and the cigar was merely to complete the illusion. Though he knew he would live, he couldn't help but revel in the sense of fulfillment of the words that had set the events of the last four years into motion.

_"I will rule this sector, or see it burnt to ashes around me."_ True, the outcome wasn't desirable, but he hadn't lost. He still had working hybrid labs, and his surprise would take care of the Queen of Blades...

* * *

The ornate door began to bend and buckle before it was pried open by Sarah's mind. The ghost stepped into the office.

Mengsk turned and stood. "Hello, Kerrigan. I've been waiting for you."

Sarah gave no reaction other than raising her rifle.

"Really? Nothing to say before you die? Very well..."

Sarah was puzzled by Mengsk's statement until he thumbed his lighter and the xel'naga artifact emerged from the floor. Sarah's eyes widened. She was mostly human, but there was enough Zerg in her to make its pulse deadly...

As he ran through the hallways of the mile-high palace, Jim felt a searing pain in his head and doubled his pace. He was surprised that Sarah had kept the telepathic link between them after all that had happened in the past four years, but he was grateful for it now as it allowed him to find her. He just hoped Sarah would still be alive...

* * *

Sarah clutched her head and fell to the floor from her knees as Mengsk zapped her a second time. The shock didn't last very long; clearly Arcturus was enjoying himself. But Sarah had no doubt that they would kill her eventually.

Arcturus picked up her rifle and tossed it out the doorway before stopping his second attack. He kneeled down in front of her, noting with subtle satisfaction the uncomfortable expression on her face.

Sarah's body was numb from the pulse, and she could do nothing as Mengsk reached out his hands, careful to keep one thumb on the switch. His right hand mockingly traced her face, and she refused to think about the left. She could have easily struck him down right then, but her body wouldn't respond. She couldn't even recoil from his touch or avert her eyes from watching Mengsk's left hand.

After a tortuous ten seconds, Arcturus stood up and backed off. Sarah tried to stand again and felt her muscles respond, only to be struck again. It only lasted for a second, but her muscles felt like they had liquefied and she collapsed back onto the floor facefirst. Through her cries of pain, she almost sobbed.

_"It's not fair! __I gave up so much for this...only to fail now! Jim, I'm sorry...I screw up everything..."_

"You sounded almost human that time," he mocked. "What say we try again? Maybe you'll be cured completely this time..." He zapped her again and smiled at Sarah's agonized cries.

"Do you know," he mused, "what it's like to live as the son of a dissident...?"

Sarah tried to ignore his speech and figure out a way to reach him with what little strength she had, but she couldn't focus at all. The only things running through her head were an incessant stream of reminders of what was at stake. If she failed now, Jim would never live with himself, to say nothing of what would happen according to Zeratul's prophecy...

Arcturus traced the outline of her figure with his foot while continuing his monotonous recollections, smiling with satisfaction when he noticed her lack of reaction. Once his foot was done, he planted a kick straight between her legs, his smile only widening as a whimper of agnoy escaped Sarah's lips.

Sarah had given up hope of being able to kill Mengsk by herself; her body had been so weakened that even a reflexive mental response to pain had been ignored. Now all she could hope for was someone else to help. She'd just have to keep Arcturus occupied until then. "Go...to..."

The last word was torn from her breath as Mengsk zapped her yet again. This time, she felt her heart flutter for a few seconds. Upon realizing she was so close to death, terror began to rise uncontrollably within her. _"Please don't tell me you've given up, Jim!"_

Mengsk must have sensed it too. "Alas, I fear the time for entertainment is past." The mockery in his tone evaporated instantly. "Now, at long last," he snarled. "You will _die!_"

_"I love you, Jim..." _Sarah braced herself for the burst of pain she knew would be her last.

But it never came.

Arcturus Mengsk looked up to the sound of heavy footsteps and only had time to register a white skull on an orange visor before Jim crushed his hand with one fist and seized him with the other.

"Change of plans!" Jim threw the emperor across the room. Mengsk hit the floor hard and the controller shattered. He lifted his head to see himself staring down the barrel of Jim's revolver.

Jim suddenly lowered it slightly as Sarah groaned and managed to lift her head off the ground. Silently encouraging her, he kept his revolver trained on Mengsk until Sarah managed to get to her feet, her eyes burning with rage. Mengsk stared her down defiantely.

"You can never suffer enough for all the lives you ruined, Arcturus." Sarah approached him.

"Spare me your hypocritical smokescreen and take your petty vengeance like the impulsive bitch you are!" he spat. Sarah suddenly grabbed him with her mind and threw him into the bank of screens hard enough to break a hole in the wall. Mengsk's scream of pain was lost in the rumble of falling debris.

"Vengeance?" She yanked him out of the rubble enough for him to see her. "Yes, partially. I may have been as much of a tyrant as you are, but today, every man, woman, and child who you trampled in your own quest for power can rest in peace knowing the monster who manipulated them all is dead! This isn't just vengeance, Arcturus! _This is justice!_"

She seized his head and his body began to glow as psionic energy coursed through him. After a few seconds, she stopped. Deciding to make it quick, she focused all of her energy into his body, and Arcturus Mengsk let out one last scream as it began to incinerate him from the inside.

* * *

Sarah stood in the ruins of Mengsk's office, looking out at the withdrawing Swarm. Though she knew that she would likely never see Jim again, Sarah couldn't bring herself to say anything or even look at him. Thankfully, Jim made the first move.

"You did it, Sarah." He walked up from behind her and kissed her cheek, thankful that he had gotten out of his power armor.

"Only thanks to my knight in shining armor." Sarah spun around and embraced him tightly. "Oh Jim..."

For a few moments the two simply held each other. Truth be told, Jim was more than slightly apprehensive at being so close to the most powerful being in the Korpulu Sector, especially after he'd seen what she'd done to Mengsk. Although, Jim had to appreciate her sense of sentiment, however twi...strange a manifestation that took.

For years, Arcturus had vowed to either subjugate the entire sector or see it burn, and now, he had instead been the one to burn, with his symbols of power in ruins beside him. Everything that Jim had fought for in the last four years had so quickly come to endgame, it was almost unreal. For the first time, Jim felt a heavy weight lift from his shoulders; he could, at last, be a free man and live out his life with the woman he loved. Maybe they could have a happy ending after all.

Sarah picked up his thoughts and her smile only broadened. With Mengsk dead, like Jim's, her burden of the past had been alleviated. What he did to her she would never forget, but it no longer dominated her thoughts. She would have to stay with the Zerg to prevent them from ransacking the Dominion in lieu of a coherent military, but finally she and Jim could be together by choice. At last, she would have a chance at the life that she was denied since the Confederacy had conscripted her as a ghost.

Jim didn't need to be a telepath to know what Sarah was thinking. When he'd heard that she returned to the Zerg, he'd thought all hope was lost and that maybe she'd been right about herself. But when she entered his cell, he and the rest of the sector had been proven wrong. The Queen of Blades might have been a ruthless psychopath, but Sarah Kerrigan was a force for good and a completely different being. Just as the memory of her had been the only thing that gave him any hope despite the terrible things done by the demon possessing her body, he had been the only thing that had made her accept the Swarm rather than embrace it. Looking at it now, their love had been the only thing that saved them both, and Jim was both relieved and excited that he meant that much to Sarah. Suddenly he began thinking about other things about her...

Sarah seized him and brought his lips to hers, telepathically chiding him for his thoughts. As their lips met the sky flashed the colors of sunset before the crimison orb disappeared behind the city skyline and twilight fell.

Of course, the end was nowhere near in sight. Their hardest battle remained ahead of them, and in their bliss and euphoria both had forgotten about the threat of Amon. On cue, a smoky black trail landed on near them.

* * *

Sarah broke the kiss and turned to face their new companion.

"Zeratul." Unlike last time, she spoke neutrally. He wouldn't dare kill her with Jim around, and there was still the prophecy...

She felt her heart sink as she remembered. Zeratul had mentioned that the best chance they stood lay with her infestation, and seemed serious about it despite the danger it posed to the Protoss. It had been impossible to pull it off while she thought Jim was dead; now that he was alive and they were closer than ever, she didn't know if she could even stomach the thought.

"Kerrigan..." he replied in a voice as cold as the Void from which he drew his power. Before he could continue, Raynor cut him off.

"Zeratul, what were you thinking, making her go there? I went through hell to bring her back, and you wanted her to throw it away?!"

"James Raynor, your kind have proven themselves superior to ours in many ways, but on the subject of the prophecy, your judgements must be discounted."

"You said it yourself; the prophecy is uncertain! Nowhere does it make any mention of Sarah, let alone of needing to be infested to stop Amon!"

"That is a chance we cannot afford to take!" The Nerazim sounded angrier than either of them had ever heard him. "The last time we decided to take a chance, it ended in disaster for our people! I swore by my life to prevent us from making another mistake of such magnitude, and yet you would have all of creation gamble their fate on account of your emotions!"

Jim was about to argue but Sarah stepped in. "Jim, he's right..."

"Sarah...I just can't bear to see you do that again, after all the pain it caused us the first time."

"It's going to be different this time, Jim. When I was first infested the Overmind gave me free will but I was under Amon's influence like the rest of the Swarm. When he died that influence continued to live in me until I was deinfested."

"How can you be sure?"

"Jim, the xel'naga artifact's right over there. If nothing else, take it as a safeguard if things go wrong. And...a way to bring me back when this is over."

"I don't want to have to use it again, Sarah. I also can't risk using it. It's too much to ask for the Swarm to stand aside while I take you, and the Protoss might consider the risk of the artifact worth it if they get their revenge."

"Jim, if I don't, the chance is much greater that I won't make it, to say nothing of what would happen to all of you if I died."

"But you might not even survive the infestation; from what you showed me, only hate would have kept you alive!"

"I'll...I'll find a way, Jim. You've never doubted me before; I won't give you cause to start now."

Zeratul watched to exchange with a mixture of curiosity and astonishment. It was difficult to believe that Kerrigan had forsaken the power she craved as the Queen of Blades, especially given the lengths she had gone to achieve it. Maybe Raynor was right in believing they were different people, but he still couldn't bring himself to forgive her any more for Raszagal's brainwashing and death, to say nothing of the betrayal of Fenix, the murder of Aldaris, and the countless other crimes she was responsible for.

On that note, Kerrigan seemed acceptant of, even resigned to, the justice the Protoss would eventually bring to her. Maybe because she herself understood that, if her last victim's identity was anything to judge by. Nevertheless, even with Kerrigan's own cooperation, Zeratul knew that Raynor would not be convinced easily of the validity of his plan.

"Please, Jim, let me go. I want to be with you; I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. But we both know I can't do that or we won't be together for very long."

"Kerrigan is correct, James Raynor. It is in the best interest of us all. For now, we Daelaam Protoss are as a whole willing to set aside our grudge."

"It's the 'for now' that I'm worried about, Zeratul. I don't want Sarah leaving if it means she's going to be stabbed in the back as soon as we're done with Amon."

"Jim, promise me you won't stop them if they want it. The Zerg will take more kindly to my death than the Protoss will if you deny them fulfillment of their vendetta."

"Sarah, what about _me__?_ We can bring you back with the artifact, but the temptation to kill you while you're weakened...I just can't bear to see you die after I thought I lost you for good twice..."

Sarah felt her heart crack at that, and she was at a loss for words. "Jim...I...I..." Fortunately Zeratul stepped in.

"If you cannot relinquish her, James Raynor, we will _all _pay with much more than her life. Remember the words I spoke when I bestowed you the Ihan Crystal."

Sarah walked back to Jim and hugged him tightly. "Jim, we _will_ see each other again. I promise. Just promise me that you'll put the future of us all above me. _Please_._"_

The conviction in Sarah's voice made Jim want to believe her, but he couldn't shake his doubts. He looked down at her and felt tears sting his eyes. If he agreed, this would quite possibly be the last time he would ever see her. But if he didn't, then the sector would burn and all life would die as a result of his weakness.

"Jim," she whispered. _"Promise me."_ Jim noticed she was crying silently. This must be even harder for her, and yet she was willing to do it, even though it meant near-certain death at the hands of either Amon or the Protoss...

Zeratul backed away slightly out of respect, careful to keep his distance from the xel'naga artifact. He could easily sense that this was a difficult decision for them both, and left them alone physically and telepathically to dwell on his own thoughts.

With Kerrigan's words there remained no doubt in his mind that she was a different person, but he still couldn't give her the benefit of the doubt yet. Raszagal might have given her another chance at this point, but the Dark Templar did not possess his matriarch's benevolence. Only by making the ultimate sacrifice on Zerus would she be able to wrestle that from him, and such a perspective was still considered lenient among Protoss.

Zeratul knew the Protoss-Terran alliance had a great chance of shattering without Raynor to lead it. But he also knew that if the Protoss killed Kerrigan, there would be no chance that Raynor would look past such an act or forgive it. The fact the Terran Dominion had a new leader only further complicated affairs; while the younger Mengsk hadn't shown his father's malevolent intent against the Protoss the latter race still knew next to nothing about Valerian. For once, the Zerg seemed to be the least of the problems facing the Protoss...

Suddenly Zeratul noticed Kerrigan had climbed atop an Overlord and was preparing to return to her Leviathan. Whatever she had done to convince Raynor, he was grateful for it; from the beginning Zeratul had known nobody else could settle Raynor's fears in the least.

* * *

"You're leaving now?"

"I...I figured I might as well make it quick. The longer we stay together, the more I'm afraid it's going to hurt for us both."

"...You're right, Sarah. Just don't deprive me completely of the sight of you, okay?"

Sarah forced a smile at that. "Jim, thank you...for everything."

With that, the Overlord turned and began ascending to Kerrigan's Leviathan.

"My pleasure, darlin." Jim felt as if his heart was being squeezed through a juicer, but he smiled and kept his eyes locked on Sarah. "Always was."

She kept her eyes locked on Jim long after she could no longer make him out in the dim light. She was dwelling on the words he had reminded her of, the words spoken on Umoja only three weeks ago, but it seemed like a lifetime now.

_"I never gave up on you, Sarah! Don't you give up on us!"_

"No Jim," she whispered aloud, feeling as though her heart would break. "I haven't and will never give up on us. Even if my appearance changes, I will never stop loving you. Someday, we'll be back together. I know it."

When the Overlord arrived, she hopped off and walked to the Leviathan's nerve center.

"Izsha, prepare to pull the Swarm out of orbit. We're going back to Zerus."

* * *

**_Hyperion_, Korhal orbit, 1 hour later**

When the dropship ramp lowered, Horner was there to greet his commander.

"Sir, what did Zeratul want?"

Jim sighed. It was far too soon to breach this topic again, but his crew had a right to know. "He...wanted Sarah to re-infest herself."

Horner was aghast. "And you let him convince her?"

Jim didn't reply. He couldn't believe that he had given her permission. He saw this as her big chance to prove to the Protoss that she was indeed different, but they might also take it the wrong way and assume she was trying to finish the Overmind's work. That was the only reason he'd let her go: that the infestation might, in some perverted sense, affirm that she wasn't the Queen of Blades.

Horner respectfully backed off and the two walked to the bridge in silence. "Where to now, sir?"

"We should stay behind and give Junior a hand with cleaning up and rebuilding. If we're going to have our best shot at stopping Amon we have to rebuild our military and government so we can fight as one."

Horner nodded and privately wondered if he had given up on her. Those thoughts were quashed when he saw Jim walk to the bridge windows.

"Sarah..." Jim stared at her Leviathan as it began to pull away from the planet.

* * *

**Kerrigan's Leviathan**

Sarah looked out at the _Hyperion_. She knew Jim was watching her. She could sense his thoughts in her mind via their psychic link. Though they were distant and theoretically easy to ignore, she found herself trying to hold on to them. Unable to help herself, she quickly probed Jim's mind and immediately wished she hadn't. For the past hour she'd tried to distance herself from him, but hearing him again instantly undid that progress. She felt his conflicting emotions and his love. But there were other things. She heard Jim using his promise from the Brood War to justify letting her go to himself.

Sarah felt her eyes tear up. Jim had never been one to break his promises, and she didn't expect him to start with that one, especially given the context he had made it in. While Jim had told her afterwards that he had been referring to the Queen of Blades, now that she heard it invoked here, any faith in those words was shattered. In that case, there was nothing she could do but to say farewell for good and stay away from Jim...

She locked her jaw in an effort to stem the tears. She couldn't lose her composure here.

"My queen, the swarms are assembled. We await only your command."

Without looking back, Sarah gave the order to move out. Within seconds, the Zerg fleet was gone.

* * *

**_Hyperion_**

Jim turned away from the window at sensing Sarah's telepathic farewell, angered beyond belief at what he'd done. "Matt, open a channel to Valerian and ask him if he requires any assistance. Distribute our men as you deem fit."

"Sir?" Normally such decisions were left to Jim himself.

"Matt, I've always said you're going to end up leading this outfit someday. Now's your chance...I need some time. I'll be back, but I need some time for now."

Horner immediately understood and saluted respectfully as Jim left the bridge.

Jim walked to his quarters and sat on the bed, numb. His eyes were unconciously drawn to the vidsnap of her from their days in the Sons of Korhal that lay on his desk. With considerable effort, he tore his eyes away from the image. Even so, tears fell from his eyes.

He had come to grips with what he had done, but he wasn't sure if he could move on, let alone forgive himself for it. He'd given the love of his life permission to undertake a virtual death sentence. Not only that, but he'd used his promise to see her dead to justify himself and only succeeded in causing them both more pain.

_"What kind of person am I, to do that? _I_ was supposed to be her only hope, and yet I stood aside and let her throw everything away, then made it worse!"_

He wasn't concerned anymore about her infestation. He had the xel'naga artifact to reverse it when the time came, and he was confident Sarah knew what she was talking about. Even the implications no longer bothered him; he knew how reluctant she was to ask him the question since they'd gotten back together and that she was only doing it out for the sake of stopping Amon.

It was what would happen after Amon was dealt with that tormented him. The Protoss wouldn't see things the same way he did, which would alone be justification to kill her. They wouldn't be easily swayed from their judgement even without the Queen of Blades' ill history.

Zeratul had been right. His emotions _were_ affecting him. He loved Sarah, and she had used that to persuade him. He didn't blame her for it - she meant what she was saying - but he did blame himself for falling for it.

Jim shook the thoughts from his head. What was he thinking? His Raiders' mission was to save lives, and for now, that meant staying back and rebuilding the Dominion so they stood a chance of stopping Amon.

As for Sarah, she might resemble the figure the Protoss so despised, but Jim knew she was different. All he had to do was convince the Protoss of that. They were stubborn, but not irrational; he was confident that once Sarah had done her part, they would at least give her a chance.

Jim stood and began to return to the bridge. Sarah had promised to play her part in the upcoming war; now it was time to do his.

* * *

**Author's Note: If my writing hasn't shown it, I'll admit it now: I have no experience with depicting Protoss. I hope I did at least a passable job with Zeratul's character; it somehow didn't feel in lieu with what he would say or think.**

**Just to put this out there: I don't derive any sense of schadenfreude from writing that tortue sequence, but I felt like the incineration was a bit overkill with the original sequence of events inside Mengsk's office, so I went back and rewrote it.**

**Without a doubt, the most emotional story I've tried to write. I hope I did a decent job. As always, please review!**


End file.
